Bonds
by Melkor44
Summary: He's met a lot of people in his lifetime, and they've all been very different. From his best friend to those thought of as his equals, each has affected him in some way or another...for better or worse, he is more than the sum of his experiences. (A prequel to "Silence" that continues my trend of not saying his name until the very end.)


He had known many trainers in his lifetime, such as it was, and each of them was a story unto themselves. They had shaped him, in some way, molding his fighting spirit into its tempered form...but it was probably just better to start at the beginning, when he was no more than a child; in the not-so-far-off land of Kanto, where he had begun his journey.

There had been Blue, his rival and best friend; the boy was rash and hot-headed, a violent path-forger who had always stayed one step ahead of him...though that hadn't extended into any sort of skill with Pokemon battles, in which Blue would always lose to him. The boy had grown into a willful young man, never truly losing his arrogant streak, but they were still the best of friends.

Next to Blue had been the twins, their younger neighbors, Fire and Leaf; the two had always been right on his heels, much the same as he'd followed in Blue's wake, and their combined skill would likely have been enough to topple him if they hadn't constantly argued with one another over who was better. Fire could even pass for him, with a little black hair dye, and Leaf was practically a clone of Blue's sister Green. While they had never developed a true bond with him, he would occasionally credit them as the reason his skills stayed so sharp. They were also the ones who visited him the most when he made his sojourn to the mountain.

To round out Pallet Town, of course, was the ever-illustrious Professor Samuel Oak...a Kanto Champion from the days in his youth, holding that position for a full twenty years before retiring. The post had gone unfilled until Blue had conquered Lance, for a short-lived hour as the strongest trainer in Kanto; he didn't begrudge his friend any for always beating him to the punch, but he'd certainly shown Blue his place. The Professor had come to see his grandson's triumph, only to find that it was already lost.

Then, of course, there were the various Gym Leaders and other peoples of the Kanto region. Brock, the Pewter Leader, a defense-oriented man who proved to be no more than a stepping-stone to greater power. Misty, the Tomboyish Mermaid, whose aquatic abilities were unmatched by any. Lieutenant Surge, the Lightning American, an immigrant from the Isshu region after the end of the great war that had taken thousands of lives. Erika, the flower-arranging and old-fashioned young woman whose demure looks belied her inner power. Sabrina, the psychic teenager who was occasionally regarded as Elite Four material due to her chosen type's few weaknesses; Koga, the grand master ninja who commanded the darkness of the underworld in their fight against Team Rocket. Blaine, the quizzical master of twenty questions whose thoughts were like his gym: a volcano...and then Giovanni, supreme commander of Team Rocket and all of its assets; the Viridian City Gym Leader had been a thorn in his side since their first meeting in the Game Corner's basement.

After the Gym Leaders, of course, came the region-governing Elite Four. First among them was Lorelei, the ice queen who was commonly regarded as the "weakest" of the group...likely because she had a type disadvantage against Bruno, a world-champion martial artist whose Pokemon reflected his profession. Agatha was third, an aging Ghost-type specialist from the time of Professor Oak's youth. Last was Lance, the strongest and the leader of the Kanto region's Elite Four, a Dragon-type master whose skill was as feared as his beasts were legendary.

The quartet had always stood behind him in his decision, and it had in fact been Lance who had told him to seek out the mountain which would serve as the greatest test of his ability...so he had headed back to Pallet Town in order to say his goodbyes. After a tag battle with Blue against Fire and Leaf, who were still upset that their elder brother-figures had made it all the way and left them behind, he had begun his sojourn. It was at the top of the mountain that he had found solace, standing watch over the world and seeing all that he could from his perch. The world below meant nothing to him, which is what made him so impressed with those who managed to fight their way to him...and there were four who had done so.

Lyra had been the first to reach him; she was a mediocre trainer, in his opinion, and her Pokemon had been weaker than he'd have thought, but she had possessed a keen sense for battle that allowed her to hang in when she should have been down. Her Blissey, in particular, had been monstrous...and speaking of monsters, there was Crystal. The young woman fought ferociously, with a style that seemed to be taken from himself and Blue; she was aggressive, fiery, pushing him into corners and forcing him to make choices he didn't want to. She had stayed for a month after her defeat, training herself and her Pokemon in the same way that he always had, and she was prepared to conquer the world when she left his side. Not long after she left, Silver came; the boy had inherited Giovanni's position as the leader and boss of Team Rocket, as the man had gone into hiding after his defeat in Viridian City. The only thing that set them apart was their appearance, as Silver's red hair was clearly not passed down from Giovanni. His loss had been taken graciously, and he left just as Gold had arrived...the Johto Champion had waited for two days before offering a challenge, and he had never felt so alive as when he battled Gold.

His rivalry with Blue had been childish, and fun, but never truly serious. The battles with Giovanni had been frightening, almost life-threatening, and he'd often fight just to keep himself in them. Challenging the Elite Four had been done out of duty and purpose, never exhilaration. Climbing the mountain had truly been a test, but never particularly fun. Crystal had awoken his inner beast, as strong as she was, but she could not match him for his fury or power; with Gold, a fellow child-prodigy whose skill was considered legendary in its own right, he was with an equal. There had been no trepidation in the boy's face or movements against him, always constant in his belief in himself and his partners...it hadn't been enough, of course, but they had parted as fast friends despite his muteness and Gold's decisive loss. It was through Gold, in fact, that his legend began to spread beyond Kanto and Johto's shores.

A shadow of life atop the mountain's peak, the tales said. A trainer who championed no cause but the pursuit of his own power, strong enough to beat the previously undefeated Champion of the Johto region. A hermit who stood facing into the sun each day, attempting to find the secret to true strength; word spread farther and farther outwards, bringing many who then tried to defeat the mountain in order to reach him. Wallace, one of the Hoenn region's two Champions, had been the first to make it all the way...but he fell quickly, weakened from the unexpected harshness of the unforgiving journey. Wallace's title was still well-deserved, he thought, but such type-specialization would inevitably leave no chance for victory.

Steven Stone, the second of Hoenn's Champions, was next; he had come under the pretense of collecting rare stones, but they both knew better than that. For a Champion, there could be no greater validation of power than a battle against an equal...and equals they were, he found, for the man's power had manifested just as much as his own. He had inevitably fallen into the same trap as Wallace, which caused the loss, but none could fault him. It was simply Hoenn's way, with its half-land and half-water regional divide and its legendary Pokemon; they lived on the very source of elemental division.

Cynthia, champion of Sinnoh, had been the third to come to his home on the peak. She had given some sort of speech about him, not that he cared to remember it; he'd never had much of a mind for speeches or politics, which was one of the reasons that he'd left the world behind. In any case, she'd proven herself a capable combatant...and, he had idly noted, she had certainly looked beautiful in her black dress as she had given her Pokemon their orders. Their battle had been the most drawn-out of any he'd been through in his life, though he'd eventually triumphed.

Last of his visitors had been Alder, of Isshu, who had elected to simply stand and meditate with him rather than battle; they had battled before he left, of course, but it had been saved for the end. They had sat together for a month or more, and Alder was thankfully able to interpret his muteness-driven conversation...the man had fought like a demon in their battle. He had only pulled a win on Alder thanks to the man's Volcarona being part Bug-type, nearly losing several times. Perhaps the man did something special with his meditation? In any case, Alder had made a promise to come back when he could safely return to his homeland and stop being a fugitive...something which he was attempting to fix through old-fashioned training. He had also chosen a successor to his seat as Champion, and would bring them when they were ready.

He was occasionally visited by his friends, when they were in the nearby area, and kept up with current events through them. Hoenn had been saved from devastation by Legendary Pokemon who had created land and sea, Sinnoh had been saved from becoming the site of the space-time continuum's destruction and the release of the Sealed One, peace had been restored to Isshu and it had been saved from being sealed in eternal winter...the list went on and on about all the world crises that were happening.

Alder did come back, one day, with a small girl named Iris; she meditated with them, though she refused to battle, and Alder's loss the second time around wasn't a fluke or a stroke of luck. After they had left, he couldn't help but think that the girl might have been the one to beat him. She, like Gold and himself, was a child who was born to battle...and the thought of fighting against her, one day, was enough to get his pulse racing.

Fire, Leaf, and Blue had all come to see him one day to announce that he'd been invited to participate in the Pokemon World Tournament, held in the Isshu region, where he'd get to fight legendary trainers from every corner of the globe; he had declined, silently, which shocked them. Blue had already said that he would participate, but no amount of wheedling managed to convince him to go...he enjoyed it here, where the only ones who bothered him were strong enough to go toe-to-toe with him in an even battle. His skills weren't for show, and he hated being in the spotlight. He had pointed to Fire, the male twin's eyes widening in surprise and his head shaking no.

Blue and Leaf were fine with it, though they knew that it wouldn't truly be the same. Fire could certainly impersonate him easily enough, but what would happen if he lost?

He had almost wanted to laugh, if it weren't for the fact that he'd already signed and sent his own response to the World Tournament invitation several days earlier; he just wanted to see what would happen when he made Fire take his place...and long after they had gone, his eyes had glinted with laughter that would never be heard or felt. Just because he wouldn't compete in the World Tournament didn't mean that he wouldn't go, after all.

Of course, why not take the chance to show the world just why they feared the man with eyes of blood and flames? There wasn't likely to be a better time in his life to showcase his legendary strength...no matter how much he hated the spotlight, he loved to fight; it was in his heart and mind, his blood and soul. The god of battle within him would raise itself, once again, for a final showing of destruction as proof of his dominance...he would crush the enemy for one reason, and that reason only: he was who he was, and who he was could be summed up with a single word.

Red


End file.
